Cells of specific lactic acid bacterial strains or bifidobacterial strains, and milk fermented with such bacterial cells, have been reported to be effective for amelioration of inflammation such as in the cases of allergy suppression, inflammatory bowel disease, and autoimmune disease (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis) (e.g., Patent Literatures 1-12, Non-patent Literature 1). The effect of improving arthritis in humans by intake of lactic acid bacteria has been verified and reported; however, there are few cases in which lactic acid bacteria exhibiting practically sufficient activity or usefulness have actually been applied. For example, the amount of a lactic acid bacterium to be taken is often large, and effectiveness is often evaluated under defective conditions of placebo controls, double blind tests, and experimental plans, in many literatures that demonstrate the effectiveness of intake of a lactic acid bacterium on humans (e.g., Non-patent Literatures 2 and 3). In addition, there are reports demonstrating that intake of a lactic acid bacterium does not improve arthritis (e.g., Non-Patent Literature 4). Based thereon, it has been speculated that the effect of improving arthritis by lactic acid bacteria is strain-specific, and thus selection is required. It has also been speculated that such lactic acid bacteria exhibit very weak activity when they are directly applied.
In recent years, cases of locomotive syndrome have been increasing due to changes in eating habits, lack of physical activities, age-related muscle weakness, joint inflammation, and the like. Patients with locomotive syndrome are highly likely to become bedbound, which poses large social problems. Major examples of such diseases include osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. However, adverse reactions such as small intestinal disease due not only to existing steroids, but also to anti-inflammatory agents that are nonsteroidal are major problems (Non-patent Literature 5, and Patent Literature 10, 13, and 14). As such, effective means for improving articular inflammation using safe immunoregulative materials such as lactic acid bacteria that can be orally taken within a practical dose range are still needed to prevent or treat articular inflammation.